The Will to Live
by PrestigiousP
Summary: Orange lacked the passion for all but a quiet life, but as the child of two dex holders, quiet was not an option. Away from the seclusion of her own home, Orange must now deal with the pressure of stopping a team bent on saving a region, keeping out of danger if only for the sake of a watchful professor, and finding her parents all before an entire region meets its timely fate.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello again everyone! As I have promised for months, the Orange redo is finally underway enough for me to post what I have written! I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.**

**Happy holidays!**

* * *

><p>Professor Elm sat in front of the monitor, blearily rubbing his eyes as he picked up the green phone and typed in a number. It was dark in the room, nothing visible save for the areas illuminated by the lit up computer screens. Outside, a light sheet of dark purple snow began to cover the ground, the wind howling softly against the lab walls.<p>

Suddenly, the monitor lit up. The professor was greeted with a brunette woman and a warm smile.

"Hello, Professor," the woman said softly. "Happy holidays."

Professor Elm took a second to register her face. She looked so different now than the way she used to. She no longer wore the same bubbly determined expression he was so used to when she was off saving the world. Life had slowed down a bit since then.

"Yes yes," he said abruptly. "Merry Christmas, Crystal."

She smiled again. There was a long pause. Elm could hear a baby crying on the other line.

"Crystal," he started.

"You don't have to tell me, Professor," she interrupted. "I know it's time."

Elm nodded, his face suddenly turning somber. "I only want you and your family to be safe. You understand, right?"

She nodded, her expression softening. She looked down at her lap and then back up at the screen, uncomfortably pulling her curly, brown pigtails over her shoulders and playing with a loose strand in her ugly red and green Christmas sweater.

"I-I've contacted Emerald, told him about the situation, he said he'd be happy to offer up his home."

She offered a small smile. "That's good." She nodded again, but there was another long pause. "It won't be that bad Professor, will it?"

He didn't say anything for a while. "On your end, no."

She felt apprehensive chills run up her spine. "I don't feel good about this then. As long as Johto is in danger and I'm not there to help—"

"Crystal, enough," Elm interrupted sternly. "Johto will be worse with the three of you around." There was another pause as Crystal's gaze descended again. "Besides," Elm went on, "the other four will take care of it."

"Have you found Silver yet?" she asked.

"No," he replied. "And if I can't find him, they won't be able to find him either."

"So he gets to stay then?" she asked a little harshly.

"Stop," Elm said. "You know full well that Silver has nothing to lose, and I couldn't make him do anything he doesn't want to anyway, not even when you guys were kids. Crystal, you have a family, and you were always my favorite."

She smiled slightly and then looked down again. "When does the helicopter come?"

"It'll be at your place in an hour."

"Will you keep me in the loop after we leave?"

"No. We won't see each other for a very long time, Crys."

"Alright," she muttered.

"Give my best to Gold."

"I will. Goodbye, Professor," she said, hanging up the phone.

"Goodbye, Crys."

* * *

><p>The steady morning sun beat down lightly on Orange's back as she finished the last leg of her jog. She came to a halt at her front door and drew in a deep breath of crisp, fresh mountain air as she leaned down and rested her hands on her knees. She brushed the mud off of her running shoes as she stepped inside the mountainside villa.<p>

As she walked in, she was instantly met with the sight of her small, yellow mouse Pokémon sunning himself on the white carpet. The three big windows that overlooked the mountainside provided plenty of eastern exposure and filled the whole room up to the vaulted ceiling with a surplus of natural light. A large crystal chandelier hung from the wooden ceiling and glimmered in the sun.

Orange walked into the kitchen and turned on the stainless steel faucet. She filled an empty cup with water as she went back into the living room.

The perks of having a father who is a Pokémon Champion included a very nice, luxurious house on the side of Mt. Silver. The perks of having a house on Mt. Silver included only the best natural resources available, such as the freshest mountain air and the most invigorating spring water for drinking and bathing from down the hill.

The little rodent Pokémon yawned and stretched when she walked by, his corpulent belly protruding as he arched his back. He watched through half-lidded eyes as Orange took a seat on the couch, taking the ponytail out of her honey blonde hair. She grabbed the remote and flipped on the TV.

"…_and people are beginning to question the well-being of the general ecosystem as more and more absurd weather occurrences continue to plague the people and communities all around the Johto region. This is Cheyenne Summers reporting live at the Lake of Rage where the sandstorm continues to fill up the lake, ruining the habitats of many local freshwater Pokémon, back to you Carson."_

"_Thank you Cheyenne, if you would like to help in disaster relief for Mahogany Town residents, contact your local gym leader to learn more. In other news, Elite Four leader Karen announced today that she would be stepping down from her position, allowing many young, new hopefuls a chance to fill in her place. Karen gave no specific reason as to her sudden decision, stating only that she 'needs to take a break in order to pursue other life choices.'"_

Suddenly, the little rodent Pokémon stood up and walked over to the window. He gazed inquisitively down the side of the mountain. Orange stood up and walked over to him.

"What is it, Peach?" she asked lightly, giving him a small pat on the head. The thunderheads rolling across the sky reflected in his glassy eyes. He responded with a light coo, but she could feel the apprehension from deep inside of him.

Peach was the offspring of her parents' Pikachu. She got him as a surprise birthday present just eight months ago on her fourteenth birthday. Since she had never gone on a journey when she was ten like most other kids, he was her first Pokémon.

Orange ruffled up his fur a bit before glancing at the clock. It was almost ten, and she still hadn't packed. She sighed and stood up, grabbing Peach and cradling him in her arms. She gently tickled his plump belly with her finger as she made her way upstairs to her bedroom.

She opened the door. Her bedroom was a quaint little room on the second floor with one big window that spanned across the whole wall and looked down toward the mountain side. Her bed's white down-comforter accented the white shag carpet and the white curtains which were currently pulled back. Her room was complete with a dresser, a bookcase, and a mahogany desk which atop sat a computer monitor, a keyboard, and a whole mess of Pokémon papers. On top of her bed was an empty, white schoolbag.

She set Peach on the bed. He sighed softly and began to sleep in the sunlight once again. She made her way over to the desk and began grabbing papers and reference books she would need and put them into the shoulder-bag.

She had about an hour to pack before her ferry came to take her to New Bark Town. Today was the day she would start her internship with Professor Elm at his laboratory. She wanted to make sure everything she needed was organized and ready to go.

Even though Orange's parents were two of the greatest Pokémon trainers in their day, Orange had no desire to learn how to fight. She liked Pokémon, but she would rather be there studying them in their natural habitats than bonding with them through battles. She had always told her parents that she wanted nothing more than to be a professor, and her first step in achieving her goal was the Summer Internship Program.

In actuality, the Summer Internship Program was a contest. Young hopefuls from all across Johto would apply, and only three would be chosen to come get hands on experience in a real Pokémon laboratory with actual Pokémon. But since Orange's parents knew Professor Elm, they were able to pull some strings. Orange was eventually accepted as one of three.

Orange straightened up a pile of reference books just as she heard the front door open. She heard footsteps coming up the stairs. She pushed the books into her bag as a short, blonde woman poked her head into Orange's room. She had a cheesy smile plastered on her face.

"Are you ready?" she asked. "Are you excited?"

Orange just turned and gave her a sheepish, half-hearted smile.

"Oh I forgot," her mom said, stepping into her room, "you're never excited for anything."

"I am excited, Mom," Orange said quietly as she grabbed her wallet and tucked it away in one of the pockets of her bag.

The woman, only a few inches taller than her daughter, came up behind Orange and wrapped her arms around her. "You don't have to be excited. I'll be excited for the both of us."

"I'm excited."

Her mom let go.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you," she began. "You know the other two kids you'll be interning with? Well they're the kids of two good childhood friends of mine and your dad's."

"Great."

"Yeah!" she said enthusiastically. "You guys will be fast friends."

Orange closed the flap to the bag and buttoned up all the loose pockets before she set it down on the ground and grabbed brown suitcase sitting next to her bed. She heard the door open and close again.

"Oh! That's your dad," her mom said. "I better go get lunch ready."

Her mom left the room and made her way downstairs. Orange, finally alone, collapsed onto the bed with a sigh and cuddled up close to her sleepy Peach.

It wasn't that she didn't want to go. She thought it was a great opportunity, and she was sure it'd be a lot of fun, but she had never been away from home that long before. Thinking about New Bark Town gave her an anxious, uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she had to go through with the internship. She had already signed up, and it was what she really wanted. Wasn't it?

She rolled over onto her stomach and closed her eyes. She was only fourteen. Did she even have goals? All she ever really wanted in life was the ability to jog the whole mountainside trail without stopping and one Pokémon of her very own. Maybe research was nothing more than an interest to her, a hobby.

Or maybe she was just telling all of this to herself because she was afraid of leaving. The mountain was isolated, safe. She never had to learn how to communicate with people up there because there was no one to communicate with besides her parents. Maybe she wanted nothing more than to be a researcher and she was just getting down on herself because she didn't want to face the real world.

All these thoughts swirled through her head as slowly she became weary. Her mind mulled over the facts and the possibilities of her own behavior until she finally succumbed to sleep.

* * *

><p>"Orange! Orange wake up! You're going to be late!"<p>

Orange opened her eyes to her frantic mother shaking her violently.

"I-I am. I was awake," Orange said blearily.

"Yeah nice try," her mom said with a chuckle. "Hurry up and pack your clothes. Fearow is already here."

"What?"

Orange shoved the second-thoughts she was having just an hour ago into a corner in her mind as her mom left the room. She rubbed her eyes quickly and stood up, walking over to the dresser and pulling out random clothes, throwing them into the suitcase. After she was satisfied, she zipped up the suitcase and pulled it down the stairs, her white bag slung over her shoulder.

Her father, a tall, thin dark-haired man, couldn't help but stifle a laugh as he saw his daughter's disheveled hair and smeared make-up.

She took one last step off the staircase and stood in front of her parents squarely.

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" her mom asked, smiling slightly.

"Oh," Orange said, turning around. "Peach must be sleeping."

Orange turned at the sound of her little mouse Pokémon scampering frantically down the stairs. Once he was at Orange's feet, he tugged at her pant leg and reprimanded her for forgetting him with a firm cry.

"I'm sorry, Baby," she said as she picked him up. He nuzzled his face into her shoulder.

Her mom sighed deeply, holding back tears.

"I'm so proud of you, Orange," she said, giving her daughter a hug.

"Bye, Mom."

* * *

><p>"Come on, Colby!" a pretty brunette girl yelled to her brother as she stood outside the Poké mart. At her feet stood two small, pink Pokémon. They pounced on each other playfully as the impatient girl waited for her brother.<p>

Colby turned around and stuck up his index finger. She sighed. He turned back around toward the water. She saw another pink Pokémon run up to him with something in her mouth. He grabbed it and they walked over together.

He gave it to her. "Do you know what this is?"

She turned it over in her hands. It was a small, silver bell. She tried to ring it, but no sound came out. She handed it back to him.

"I don't know, but it doesn't work. Can we get this thing for the professor now? We're supposed to be in New Bark Town soon."

He grabbed it and held it in front of his face. "I think I want to keep it."

She rolled her eyes, and they walked in.

* * *

><p>Orange sat on top of Fearow in a saddle equipped for flying Pokémon. Peach sat in front of her, watching the world pass below them in awe. Orange was a little apprehensive because of the altitude, and also because her luggage was in a basket clutched by Fearow's talons, but she trusted the bird to get them there safely.<p>

She stroked Peach softly, taking everything in. The world seemed so small from the sky, and they felt so big. This must have been how flying types felt all the time. Like gods among Pokémon, flapping their giant wings, casting dark shadows upon the lower world.

Suddenly a dark shadow passed over them itself. Orange snapped her head up, but whatever it was wasn't there. _It must have been going the other direction, _she thought, turning around. She still didn't see anything.

Suddenly Fearow began descending.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked, gently rubbing the bird's flank. She could not see New Bark Town at all in the distance. Why was Fearow coming down so soon?

"Pi?" Peach chimed, turning to her.

Suddenly, Fearow took a nose dive. Orange let out a terrified scream, holding on to Peach for dear life as they both began to panic. Fearow was gaining more and more speed as they approached a large body of water below them. Orange braced herself for impact, hugging Peach tightly.

Right before Fearow hit the water, it pulled up, straightening itself out. With a plump, Orange heard something fall into the water. She turned around and saw her suitcase sinking slowly into crystal clear expanse.

"Oh shit!" she cursed. "My suitcase! Fearow!"

Fearow approached a clearing just off the side of the water. It was small, in the shape of a horseshoe, just big enough for a couple to camp for the night if they desired. Beyond it was a dense expanse of trees. Fearow landed there.

Orange hopped off, Peach still in her arms, and turned to scold the bird. "What the hell are you doing? Does this look like New Bark Town to you?"

Fearow stared straight ahead, and suddenly Orange felt a chill ripple through her body as a strong gust of wind passed through the area. Peach scrambled up on her shoulder, clawing at her face in the process. He stared out in the opposite direction, at the water, fur standing on end. Orange turned her head slowly and caught a glimpse of something flowing in the wind.

She snapped all the way around. Peach leapt off her shoulder and stared at the Pokémon standing before them. Orange gasped and froze in fear.

It was the most beautiful Pokémon she'd ever seen in her life. It was blue, slim, agile-looking with a long purple main that billowed softly in the swift breezes. It held her gaze with piercing red irises, its long white snout pushed up high in the air, as if it was proud, or noble. Its body was littered with patches of white fur that resembled diamonds, and atop its head was a large hexagonal crest that glimmered in the sun. It had two white ribbon-like tails that flowed gently in the wind.

It silently took a step towards her. Trepidation coursed through her veins as it slowly came closer. Fearow stood at her side, nonchalant as ever. Peach seemed enthralled. He stared up at the magnificent creature as it came closer and closer. Only Orange felt the fear grow inside of her like a black hole, but even she couldn't run. She was just as captivated.

The Pokémon walked up to her until they stood face to face. It continued to hold her gaze as she felt more chills ripple through her body. Slowly, it closed its eyes and pressed its head against hers gently. Orange closed her eyes as well and started hyperventilating.

When she opened her eyes again, the Pokémon was gone.

Fearow took a few steps and lowered itself so she could get on again. Peach still stood at her side, staring into the vast expanse of water in wonder. He couldn't move. Suddenly Orange felt weak. The world began to spin around her and she felt faint. She began seeing stars and sat down next to Peach on the ground. She continued to hyperventilate until she calmed down a little.

"W-what was that?" she asked herself. She turned to Peach, who was still staring out into the water. Fearow waited for both of them patiently. She glanced up at the bird, finally standing up. With a sigh, she grabbed Peach in her arms and smoothly hopped on the saddle again.

* * *

><p>When they were back in the air, Orange thought about what had just happened. The hair on the back of her neck was still standing up, but when she looked back she realized that she had never felt threatened by the Pokémon. She never ran, she never screamed. She was scared, but she didn't do anything about it. She wondered if that was the effect of the Pokémon. Maybe it was somehow able to subconsciously keep her calm long enough to touch her.<p>

But why did it touch her in the first place? It could have indeed been the most random encounter she had ever experienced. And how did Fearow even know that it would be there? And what was that shadow that passed over them in the air?

Orange's mind whirled with complicated questions to which she had no answers. One thing she knew for sure. Screw the birds, that thing was the actual god among Pokémon. She had been around a lot of Pokémon, but she had never experienced a feeling as she did when she was around the blue creature.

She would have to check her reference books about it when she got to the lab.

She remembered her suitcase. "Stupid bird," she muttered.


	2. Chapter 2

A dirty-blonde boy sighed and slouched to the ground in front of the Pokémon Center. His small pink dog Pokémon curled up in his lap with her new accessory hung loosely around her neck. The boy looked up at his twin sister.

"Wasn't the 'ferry' supposed to be here at twelve?" he asked.

She ran a hand through her deep brunette hair and stared out at the water, a small brown package tucked underneath her other arm. "I thought so," she replied. "Maybe we got the time wrong and we're early."

"Or maybe we're too late and it already came and took two other kids for the program."

"Don't be so pessimistic Colby," she reassured. "You know that would never happen."

He stood up, exactly the same height as his twin sister. "How do you even know, Cher? Maybe they have, like, understudies for us or something."

"Or maybe they're just running late," she argued. She looked down at the Pokémon in his lap. "I can't believe you kept that ugly piece of junk. I also can't believe you spent twelve Poké dollars on a collar to put it on."

"It's not ugly," he argued. "Besides, Snub likes it and that's all that matters."

She rolled her eyes.

* * *

><p>Fearow began descending, at the destination this time. It slowly landed in front of the lab. Orange hopped off the bird, Peach in her arms. She grabbed the white shoulder-bag that fortunately did not fall in the water with her suitcase and went to knock on the door. On the other end was a short brunette girl who looked to be about her age.<p>

"Orange!" she said, running to give Orange a hug. Orange just grunted and stood there.

The girl broke away. "My name's Harley." She stuck out her hand, which Orange shook awkwardly. "I'm Professor Elm's assistant. I'm basically his right-hand man, and after training's over I'll be the one supervising you the most, basically."

Orange took this girl in. She had piercing blue eyes and a very friendly expression. When she smiled, her cheeks were cartoonish and accented by two cute dimples. Despite her sweet disposition, she was obviously a hard worker. Her light green flannel shirt was riddled with spots of dirt, and her light blue jeans had many holes in them. Her brown work boots were also covered in mud. A large straw hat sat atop her dark brown curls, which, Orange thought, seemed inappropriate to wear indoors.

She turned around and motioned for her to follow. "Come on in!"

Orange stepped into the lobby which was nothing special. It had a computer and a desk in the corner of the room, a small sofa behind it, and a few bookshelves crammed with books of every kind. To the right of the room was an open door that led into the bathroom, and facing the door was a long hallway that stretched into, what Orange guessed, was the actual laboratory.

"Professor Elm's in the back. I'm going to send Fearow off to pick up the other two. Did you know they're my cousins? What a coincidence, right? Anyway, you showed up a little late, so I don't want them to wait very much longer."

"Yeah," Orange started. "We ran into some problems on the way here."

Harley frowned. "Problems? How do you mean?"

Orange opened her mouth to explain, but decided she better not say anything in case Harley didn't believe her. She didn't want people to think she was crazy or anything.

"Uh, well we were kind of flying into the wind, you know?"

"Oh yeah," Harley said with a nod. "New Bark Town winds are a killer," she said with a laugh. "Anyway, you can head to the back and I'll be there in a minute or two." She motioned to take some of Orange's luggage, but was surprised when she didn't see anything but the white bag. "Wow, you travel light!"

Orange didn't respond.

Peach leapt out of her arms and hopped onto the sofa, curling up into a little ball and closing his eyes. Orange sighed at his laziness and turned into the hallway. She walked down the dimly lit corridor until she came into a tiled room with white-washed walls. There were various pieces of machinery around the room, but Orange didn't have a clue what any of them did, except for the computer and the video phone at the far end of the room. Sitting at the computer was none other than Professor Elm.

He didn't notice her.

She stared at him blankly for a second, mouth slightly open as she looked around the room. It was filled with researchers buzzing about here and there. She saw a few Pokémon being examined on clean shiny tables. There were discarded books strewn carelessly across desks and tables and even the floor. It looked like a hurricane had ripped its way through the room but still left the building intact.

Still no one noticed her.

She walked forward to Professor Elm's desk. He still didn't turn. He made no signs of acknowledging that she was even there. He ran a hand through his small tuft of hair and continued to stare blankly into the computer screen, typing vigorously.

Orange cleared her throat. "Um, are you Professor Elm?"

Elm jumped a little, snapping his head around to face her.

"Oh Orange, hi. You startled me," Elm said.

Orange let out a nervous laugh and apologized. Elm stuck out a thin, shaky hand and Orange grabbed it feebly.

"It's nice to finally meet you," he said. "Your parents have told me so much about you. I can't wait to get started."

He stood up and motioned for her to follow him. He began to walk to the back door which looked like it led out to the pastures.

"You'll have to excuse the mess. We're all getting ready to quite literally take a field trip, so all the researchers are scrambling to get their work done before we go." He turned to look at her. "You, however, will not be joining us." They walked over to large silver machine with one big cylindrical spout pointing downwards to the floor. Elm grabbed three big empty buckets.

"I am not going to bother training you in the lab until Chartreuse and Cobalt arrive, so in the meantime, I'm going to teach you how to do rounds which is definitely the easiest part of your job. First of all," he said, pressing a small white button on the machine panel, "you grab some empty buckets, bring them over here, press this white button, and fill each bucket to the top with Pokémon food."

The machine made a sick whirring sound until it finally released a load of Pokémon food into the bucket. After it was full, he pressed the red off button and the machine stopped. He then repeated the procedure with the other two buckets.

"After they are full, you take them outside. There should be a small golf cart out there with a big trunk. Put the buckets on there, and then you go out into the pasture and find the three feeders in which you put the food in. Once the Pokémon see you, they will swarm, so make sure not to run any of them over."

Orange nodded and smiled.

"Alright," Elm said. "If you don't have any questions I'll let you get to work. The keys should still be in the cart, but if they're not, they're probably hanging up in the garage. When you get back me and the rest of the researchers won't be here, but Harley will stay and give you directions for your next job."

Elm sent her off and continued to get ready for the field trip. Orange opened up the backdoor and tried to lug the buckets of food outside, crippled by a combination of her own frailty and the considerable amount of food in each bucket. After she finally hoisted the last bucket into the box, she latched up the tailgate and got into the front.

She realized that the whole backyard must have been the pasture because on either side she saw fencing, and toward the back was a thick growth of trees which she imagined the fences extended through as well.

She turned the key and began to drive. Instantly she saw the first feeder which was relatively close to the lab. She figured the whole backyard on this side of the trees was part of a grassy, flatland for Pokémon native to such an environment.

She drove up to the feeder and got out. As she went to the back of the cart and lugged out one of the buckets of food, she was immediately met with a handful of cheerful Pokémon cries.

She recognized most of them and bent down to pet them on the head. She saw Sentret, Rattata, Spearow, and the classic Johto starter Cyndaquil, even a Tauros came and nudged her gently on the shoulder.

The feeder was short, she expected, for the smaller Pokémon. It was metal and shaped like a donut with a white, plastic pillar in the middle that didn't seem to have much of a function except for allowing the feeder to stick out in appearance. She poured the Pokémon food equally throughout the saucer. The Pokémon circled around almost instantly and began eating.

Orange got back in the cart, and when she couldn't see any more feeders in the area, she drove toward the trees. She took a narrow dirt path which lead into the thick canopy. The dense brush of leaves offered almost total shade, allowing only a few sparkles of sunlight through which dimly illuminated the forest.

She drove forward for a while until she came upon a small pond. Right next to her was a feeder almost completely floating on top of the water. This feeder must have been for the water Pokémon. She grabbed a bucket and poured the food in, which caused a surplus of water types to poke their heads above the surface and swim to the food.

Orange placed the empty bucket back into the cart and drove onward. The path wound and wound for what seemed like forever until she finally came upon a small clearing with a feeder right in the middle. She drove over to it and got the food out, but this time, she was only met by one Pokémon.

"Chiko, chiko!" it chimed.

She turned around and looked at the small green Pokémon as the Chikorita cocked her head to the side and smiled slightly. Orange got down on her knees and motioned for the Pokemon to come forward. The Chikorita scampered playfully over to Orange and pounced on her lap. Orange grabbed her, laughing.

"Where are all your friends, Chikorita?" she asked. Chikorita just looked up at her.

Orange let the tiny grass type go and filled up the feeder. Chikorita didn't eat.

"Aren't you hungry, Chikorita?" Orange asked.

Chikorita stared at her blankly.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

Chikorita still did not move or reply but continued to stare with her big glassy eyes.

Orange picked up the small grass type and set her down in the cart. "Why don't you come back to the lab with me?" Orange took one last look around the area, but she could not see any Pokémon swarming around this particular feeder. Was that peculiar? Maybe there just weren't a lot of Pokémon back here.

She hopped into the cart and Chikorita snuggled in close to her thigh, her eyes beaming. Orange turned the key and followed the same path out. She passed through the thick brush of trees, glancing occasionally at the small Pokémon whose leaf swayed gently in the wind. Chikorita seemed unfazed. She watched the trees fly by quietly, contently, but Orange could still tell that something was not right.

She frowned as she came upon the pond that housed the second feeder. She stopped and got out. The water was still. Everything was quiet. The feeder was at least half full. All the Pokémon were gone.

She crouched down and touched the water, causing a gentle ripple. It was the only movement in the whole pond since she had gotten there. Something was definitely wrong.

"Chiko, Chiko!" Chikorita piped, cocking her head to the side and smiling as if urging Orange to move on. Orange stood up and got back in the cart. She began to drive forward again.

Eventually she came out of the trees and into the plain part of the backyard. Once again, the feeder was half full and the Pokémon gone. She didn't stop this time. It was starting to freak her out. She drove up to the lab, parked the cart and quickly stepped out, grabbing Chikorita in her arms.

"Let's go inside and see what Professor Elm has to say," Orange said.

She opened the door and discovered that the lab was empty. She set her bag down next to the food dispenser.

"Oh great," Orange muttered. "They left already. Let's go see if Harley's around."

She let Chikorita hop to the ground. Chikorita stretched and yawned, waving her leaf playfully as Orange began down the hallway.

"Hello?" Orange yelled. "Harley?"

She apprehensively came into the main room and saw Peach there, sleeping silently on the couch where she had left him. Chikorita bounced happily over to him, stepping up on two legs so she could give him a playful, curious sniff. Orange walked over to the front door and opened it. Peeking her head out, she saw no one. She stepped out.

The day was still, quiet, the clouds hovered peacefully in the sky as a quiet wind blew through area. She shouted for Harley again. No answer. She was snapped out of attention when she heard a low rumble on the other side of the lab. She walked over with trepidation and saw nothing save for a thick row of bushes and the large window that allowed the sun to stream into the lab. She stopped and took a good look around.

Suddenly, her body went tight. She couldn't move her arms or legs. Her neck was locked in place and her eyes pulled forward. She felt the fear ripple through her body once again. Could it be the same Pokémon she saw on the way to New Bark Town?

Off to the side from somewhere, a large Pokémon came into view. It was not the same, a brown one this time, tall, on two legs. She recognized it as Kadabra, the psychic type, but there was something off about this one.

It stepped in front of her and gave deep, throaty growl. Its gaze bored straight into her eyes and seemed to extend, ravaging every nook inside her whole body. Even if it wouldn't have its psychic hold on her, she felt she wouldn't have been able to move.

She noticed something was wrong. Its eyes weren't normal for Kadabra. They were black all the way around, as if the soul was gone and the window tinted as a result.

"Pichu!" Orange heard from the side. She couldn't look but she knew what was happening. She tried to tell Peach to stop, but Kadabra had control of her body. As Peach came into her line of view, she recognized the yellow sparks flying from his body. It was Volt Tackle, a damaging move for both the user and the opponent, and basically suicide for such a low level Pokémon.

Peach hit Kadabra squarely in the side, knocking it off balance and setting off its concentration. Orange fell to the ground, finally free. After the hit, Peach bounced off its body, rolling in the grass unconscious. She scrambled over to him and scooped him up in her arms. Orange got up to run.

"Yuuuuu." The Kadabra regained focus and seized her again. "HELOR!" it growled powerfully. With one flick of its wrist, Orange went flying through the window and into the lab, pieces of glass skittering across the tile floor as Orange lost her grasp on Peach and he slid farther to the side of the room.

She tried to push herself to her feet and run to Peach, but Kadabra suddenly appeared in front of her, seizing control of her again. With another flick of its wrist, Orange went flying up to the ceiling. She hit with a loud thud and fell to the ground.

She hit the ground, struggling to keep her eyes open. She was tired and hurt pretty badly. She could hardly move her arm and she was pretty sure her wrist was sprained. How was she going to make it out of this?

Suddenly, Chikorita came scampering into the room, her expression unchanged from before. She seemed unshaken even as she saw the catastrophe occur right before her eyes. She wasn't nervous. She just cocked her head at the Pokémon and looked at Orange.

Kadabra turned its attention to Chikorita, taking a few steps towards it, but Chikorita was still unfazed.

Orange saw her bag next to her and struggled to pull herself over to it. She dug out the Pokédex her mother gave to her before she left the house. She opened it and pointed it at Chikorita.

_**Chikorita**__, _it read, _**the Leaf Pokémon: Chikorita uses the leaf on its head to determine the temperature and humidity. It loves to sun bathe.**_

_Interesting, _Orange thought, _but not pertinent. _She flipped to the next page on the mechanical device and read the specifics on this particular Chikorita. She was level five, and she hardly knew enough attacks to take on a full grown Kadabra. Orange would need to be a little resourceful in order to win this fight.

She struggled and got up as Kadabra continued walking over to the Chikorita. She scooped Peach up in her arms and ran over to the fire alarm.

"Chikorita!" Orange yelled. "Use Leech Seed on the sprinklers!"

Chikorita looked at Orange with a smile before sending a barrage of small seedlings toward the tiny metal sprinklers on the ceiling. Orange pulled the fire alarm and ducked out the back door. She watched as droplets of water began to cascade down to the ground, and she saw the tiny seedlings begin to grow more rapidly with each passing second.

Chikorita leapt into the hallway as long vines started tightly wrapping themselves around everything in the lab, desks, computers, expensive electronics, and also Kadabra. Orange watched through the doorway as the tendrils sucked the enemy Pokémon's energy with each passing second. Kadabra howled in rage and tried to teleport away, but its endeavors were in vain, it could not shake them off.

"Orange!" Orange's attention was broken at the sound of her name. She turned around and saw a familiar brunette running towards her.

"Harley," Orange said breathlessly. "Where were you?"

"I went out into the forest looking for you! I'd heard on the radio that there was a rogue Pokémon on the loose and I thought I should come find you just in case it got past the fences. What happened?"

Orange stepped aside so Harley could peer into the lab. Harley's face went white as a sheet.

"Why don't you go to the lobby and lie down. I'll take care of this," she said, pulling out a Poké ball.

Orange didn't stay to watch. She hobbled around the lab and into the lobby, greeted by a happy Chikorita. The sprinklers had stopped, but everything was still soaked. Orange didn't care much. She slowly eased herself onto the sofa and set Peach right next to her head. Chikorita bounced up with them and curled up on Orange's stomach.

Orange petted her gently, murmuring soft thanks, before she succumbed to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

The large bird cast a menacing shadow over Harley, tossing up dust and dirt as its powerful wings flapped closer and closer to the ground. It landed firmly in front of her, tucking its wings close to its body and allowing the passengers to hop off. Cobalt stepped down first, allowing him to help his sister to the ground, who in turn handed Harley a package. The twins pulled out their Poké balls and released their Pokémon.

Harley smiled at her cousins as the beams of light from the Poké balls bore three small, pink Pokémon. "Hey guys! It's good to see you again. Let me help you with your luggage."

As the three trailed off in conversation, Char's Igglybuff and Cleffa leapt around happily, playing with each other. Meanwhile, Snub stuck her nose to the ground, picking up the scent of an unfamiliar person. She followed the trail into the lab.

Snub carefully pushed the unlatched door open with her nose. "Buru buru," she grunted quietly as the scent led her to the sofa.

She stood up on her hind legs, getting a good look at the girl currently fast asleep on the couch with two Pokémon. She pressed herself closer and closer to the girl's face, trying to get a good sniff. All three bodies slumbered peacefully.

Orange felt the heavy breath on her face and stirred. Opening her eyes slightly, she saw the Pokémon in her face and jumped, scrambling into a seated position and causing the two Pokémon to go flying onto the ground. Orange let out a piercing shriek as Peach leapt from the ground and ran straight into the pink Pokémon.

Snub snarled at Peach as she attempted to dodge the attack from the weaker Pokémon. They both spun around in a semi-circle and met each other squarely on all fours. They were eager to attack.

Chikorita looked down on the spectacle in a mixture of disbelief and lethargy. She was still only half awake. She quickly recovered her happy expression, however, and leapt down to stand in between the two Pokémon.

Harley rushed into the room, Poké ball in hand. "Is Kadabra back?" she asked urgently before looking at the scene in front of her. Char and Colby ran in behind her, the two baby Pokémon bouncing in as the caboose of the party.

"Snub!" Colby scolded. "Come here."

Snub didn't move a muscle and neither did Peach. They held each other's gaze, both refusing to look away in an attempt to assert their dominance. Chikorita meanwhile seemed as if she was trying to reason with the two of them.

Orange gasped. "No," she said breathily, "this little lady scared me, that's all."

She slowly stood up, still feeling the sting after her bout with Kadabra, and went to pick Peach up from the ground. He softened as she held him in her arms, but he still never tore his gaze away from his pink rival. Snub slowly retreated back to her trainer as well.

Harley cleared her throat, shoving the Poké ball back into her pocket. She cleared her throat. "Oh, well, at least this was a good ice breaker for everyone. Orange, these are my cousins and your fellow interns, Chartreuse and Cobalt. Guys, this is Orange."

Orange nodded at them, giving them a polite smile. Colby waved to her while Char walked towards her, a big cheesy grin plastered on her face. The few inches of height difference only added to the intimidating feeling Orange got from this girl's peppy expression. Char stuck out her hand.

"My name's Chartreuse, but all my friends call me Char. You can call me Char too, if you'd like!" she exclaimed.

Orange returned the gesture and smiled. "Okay, thanks."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the boy roll his eyes and rub his neck with a hand. "She's lying, she doesn't have any friends," he piped quietly. Char's expression quickly hardened, but she still maintained a smile. "We've lived on the island off Cherrygrove for our whole lives. We don't get much of an opportunity to make friends."

Orange let out a heavy chuckle. "It's okay. I live on Mt. Silver so I don't really have any friends either."

Colby walked up to the two girls, sticking out his hand. When Orange grabbed it, he gave a firm shake. "You can call me Colby. Sorry about Snub. She's a little too curious sometimes," he said coolly.

"It's no big deal," she said, although every muscle in her body disagreed.

Peach still had his eyes on the pink Pokémon.

"Oh," Char said as she clasped her hands together and stepped to the side. Orange could see the two pink baby Pokémon dancing with each other happily next to Harley. "That's Iggy and Cleffy, my Igglybuff and Cleffa." She turned back to Orange. "So is Pichu your only Pokémon?"

Orange nodded.

"That reminds me," Harley interjected. "Chikorita has not seemed to want to leave your side since the incident. The professor was looking to give her away to a trainer soon anyway, so I've decided that you should be the one to keep her. Do you want to name her?"

Orange went and sat down on the couch and Chikorita, who had been neglected attention throughout everyone's introductions, jumped up onto her lap. She gave Orange a big, glossy look as her new trainer sat down next to her. Orange placed a hand on Chikorita's back.

"I think I want to name her Pumpkin."

* * *

><p>Quite a few hours after all the researches had come back from their field trip and the lab was closed, Elm took the four kids to the back and they all sat at a big round table located toward the corner of the room in the midst of all the destruction. Orange held Peach in her lap while Pumpkin and Snub scampered around playfully throughout the lab. Cleffy and Iggy slept soundly in the middle of the table.<p>

Harley began to fill the professor in about what happened to Orange while she was alone. The professor didn't speak, only shooting Harley a curious glance. Harley returned it, showing just as much hidden concern for the situation as the professor. No one but Orange seemed to notice the shady mental exchange going on between them. She felt she wasn't getting the whole story.

At least the professor didn't seem angry with her.

When asked, Orange recounted the exact events. She told them the Kadabra was different and that it just seemed like a strange event all around, but she never said anything about the mysterious Pokémon she met on the way to New Bark Town.

Char and Colby listened intently, hanging on Orange's every word. The professor shot Harley a worried glance again, causing Orange to blush slightly.

She needed to be in control, and control constituted knowing what kind of mental exchange was going on in between the two researchers. After everything that had happened that day, it was clear at this point that she was not in control.

"Maybe it was just having a bad day," Orange said, standing. "Whatever, I'd really just like to put it out of my mind." She stretched and yawned in a very fake manner which everyone could pick up on. "I think I'm going to head to bed. Where will I be sleeping?"

Professor Elm stared at her inquisitively. This was the most she had spoken since her arrival at the lab. "Ah yes, maybe it's best you guys head to bed. After all, you start your first actual day tomorrow. Orange, you'll be staying with Harley in her room. I'll have her show you there while I show the twins their room."

Harley stood up and led Orange and her Pokémon down a hallway to the right of the lab. There was only one door. Harley opened it and Orange followed her in.

The room wasn't anything special. It was painted white, had one small, square window next to a bed on the other side of the room, with wood flooring and a green, oval rug placed in the middle of the floor. There were two twin beds, each with the same red patterned comforter, and a small wooden night stand placed in between with a plain, white lamp and alarm clock. It was lightly decorated with things that Orange figured Harley brought from home.

"Your bed is by the window," Harley said.

"I don't have any pajamas since Fearow lost my luggage," Orange replied.

"You can borrow a pair of mine," Harley said after a long pause. She hid an inquisitive expression behind her smile. Why didn't Orange tell her about the luggage sooner? "We look about the same size! Remind me tomorrow and I'll take you into Cherrygrove after work and we can buy you some new clothes."

Orange nodded politely. Harley turned to the dresser located by the door and pulled out a pair of pajamas. She gave them to Orange and left the room. When Harley returned, Orange was already tucked in her bed with Peach and the newest member of her team, Pumpkin, snuggled in close. Harley had changed into her pajamas too. She pulled down the covers and got into bed.

She flipped the lamp on and turned to face Orange.

"With all the chaos today, I never got to ask, do you have any questions?"

Orange had so many questions. "Nope."

"You don't talk much do ya?"

Orange shrugged.

"That's okay. I feel like I already know everything about you anyway, I mean, you're the daughter of two of the most famous dex holders in the world," Harley said. "I can do the talking for now because I feel like I haven't properly introduced myself." She turned so she was on her back, staring at the ceiling.

"I've been working here at Elm's lab for five years, ever since I was ten years old, because my only dream is to be a Pokémon professor. I chose to work here because I want to specialize in the study of breeding, just like Elm. Every summer I go back home to Pewter City to visit my family, but this has become like a home away from home for me, and I hope it will for you too."

"You said Colby and Char are your cousins? So then you're related to dex holders too?"

Harley was quiet for a long time. "Yeah," she said finally, turning back to Orange. "Green is my uncle by blood. My mother is his sister. She took over Oak's job when he retired."

"Wow," Orange said in admiration, "a direct descendant of Daisy Oak. That must mean Professor Oak is your great grandfather. Research runs in your veins I would say."

She just smiled in response. Suddenly, Peach jolted upright, casting a firm gaze toward the window. Orange and Harley looked at him as little jolts of electricity sparked from his cheeks. Harley reached for the lamp, flicking it off. Orange leaned forward and peered through the blinds.

"Do you see anything?" Harley whispered.

The expanse of darkness only housed the wind-brushed trees which looked as if they were dancing in the night. Orange looked harder, straining her eyes until she made out a shadow, no, a hooded figure standing on the edge of the tree line, a tall winged Pokémon standing next to it.

"There's someone out there."

Orange could tell by its mannerisms that the shadow was a woman. It was petite, slightly curvy, with long, curly tendrils of hair getting caught up in the wind. As Orange's eyes adjusted, she could see that the figure had her back to the window, looking into the trees.

"Who?" Harley asked. Orange didn't respond.

The woman had something to her ear, a cell phone maybe? Orange watched her for a few seconds, trying to stop Peach from sparking up again. Eventually, the woman hung up the phone and took two long strides forward, as if she was looking for something. Then she seemed to have given up. She hopped on top of her bird Pokémon and flew away.

_Does she have something to do with the Kadabra?_ Orange thought.

"Is he gone?" Harley asked after a long, tense silence. She broke Orange's train of thoughts.

"It was a woman," she replied curtly. "She was looking for something, I think."

Orange hopped off the bed and started walking to the door, but Harley immediately stood up and stopped her.

"That's not a good idea. You've been through a lot today. We'll check it out in the morning, okay?" Harley said. Orange nodded in resignation.

* * *

><p>The day's end glared at her from the alarm clock in a red menacing color. She stared at it, entranced as it flashed the even time with each passing second, but never moved on to the next minute. Finally she sat up. Peach and Pumpkin were missing.<p>

The wind howled loudly from the outside. Orange peered out the window. A massive thunderhead rolled over New Bark Town, its cracks of lightning dancing within. She turned to look at Harley in the other bed. Harley was beyond sleep. She looked lifeless, unmoving on the other side of the room.

Orange got up from the bed and walked out the door. The lab creaked and groaned as the rough winds pushed against it, as if protesting against nature itself. Orange found herself walking outside.

Immediately the gust of wind threatened to knock her off her feet, but she regained her balance. She walked until she recognized her window, the window that not even two hours earlier betrayed someone's attempt at a furtive investigation. She walked to the spot where the woman stood and started digging with her hands, her hair tangling in the wind.

Once she had dug far enough, she heard the familiar growl, the familiar voice of the. She turned and Kadabra was there, inches from her face, and in its black, soulless eyes she saw catastrophe.

* * *

><p>Orange woke in a cold sweat.<p>

She instantly sat up. Pumpkin and Peach were there, undisturbed. She snapped her head around the room. The clock read seven. Sunlight streamed in through the blinds. Harley was gone from her bed.

She peered through the window, trying to catch her breath. Harley and the professor stood outside.

* * *

><p>"You said she was here last night?" Elm asked.<p>

"That's what Orange told me." They were quiet for a long time. "Is it happening already?"

"It might be," Elm replied. "It's extraordinarily lucky we got them out before today. I shudder to think what would have happened if we hadn't."

"Well it might not be coincidence," Harley responded. "Orange was alone when she fought the Kadabra. She's an inexperienced fighter, but she's got a hell of an intuition. I have no doubt that in a pinch she would have used a Pokédex to help her win the fight, and especially since we haven't taken out the tracking devices yet... My theory, it was pure bad luck that it's begun so soon."

"If that's the case, then our plan is compromised," Elm said. "We're going to need three different holders now. These kids need to get out of the city. Harley, I need you to remove the trackers from the four Pokedexes at once, but not out of the new three. They only transmit signals when in use, and there is no easy way to tell each one apart unless they're all being used separately. If we can confuse the enemy into thinking the signal was initiated by a new recruit, maybe we can buy them some time to escape. Once you take out the trackers, I want you to keep Yellow's for yourself."

"What are you going to do?" Harley asked.

"I'm going to think of a way to break it to these kids gently," Elm replied. "If Anima's already snooping around the area, it's likely their parents have gone missing by now. We need to move fast. After you're done I want you to comb over the other applications. Pick the three you think will be the most useful. Keep in mind, though, that the next three cannot know too much. We need soldiers now, not detectives. I trust your judgment, Harley."

"So, I guess it's finally beginning now, huh? Everything's going to change, isn't it?" Harley said a little nervously.

"Oh Dear," Elm responded. "Change has already begun."


	4. Chapter 4

Orange stepped out of the lab shower and got dressed. She brushed her teeth in the mirror and traced the injuries she had sustained in the fight with Kadabra. Various scrapes littered her body from the glass, and she had many bruises as caused by impact. The rush of the water down her body caused a stinging pain in her, and with every movement her muscles cried in agony.

She struggled to put on the clothes she had worn the day before.

She wrung her long, straight hair out one last time before wrapping it in a long ponytail and walking out into the hallway. She turned back to the room and pulled out a phone. Her parents had not called since she got there. She dialed the house number, but there was no answer. _Maybe they aren't awake yet?_ she thought.

When she walked into the ruined lab, Char and Colby were seated at the table. All of their Pokémon were playing together on the ground while the twins argued quietly.

She entertained the notion of going outside to the spot where she saw the woman last night, but decided against it and instead took a seat next to her new coworkers.

"Colby that bell is disgusting. Snub looks atrocious!" Char stated.

"I don't care. She found and it she loves it. I can't even take it away from her or she gets mad at me," he said.

Char rolled her eyes before smiling at Orange. "Good morning!"

Orange nodded and offered a half-smile in response. Colby said nothing.

"So what are we doing today?" Orange said after a long pause. They both shrugged.

"Elm just said to meet at the table this morning. He never said why," Colby said.

Colby and Char chatted for a while longer while Orange contemplated quitting and going back home. It was clear to her that this was going to be a lot harder than she had thought. Maybe her gut feeling was right. Maybe she wasn't as passionate about research as she thought. It wasn't right to waste an opportunity when someone else could value more from it.

She decided to tell Elm when she next saw him that she wanted to go home as soon as possible, but when Elm walked in with Harley, an apprehensive silence fell over the room. Elm took a seat among them and Harley stood behind him.

Something was not right.

Elm let out a huge sigh before he started. "There is something I need to tell the three of you. First of all, I will preface this by saying that when I chose the three of you for this internship, I only had your best interests at heart. Secondly, the fact that the three of you, all related to a dex holder, puts you in immediate danger, and it was no coincidence that you guys made it into the program."

Orange felt her heart race. She wanted her parents.

"What you need to know is that there is a rising threat in Johto. A new team threatens to disrupt the peace of this region for purposes we have yet to understand. We only know a few things about them. They are called Team Anima, and they seek to control the legendary Pokémon Suicune, however, they cannot find it."

Orange felt dizzy. She immediately recognized the name and felt stupid for not realizing it before. Suicune, the legendary Pokémon she encountered on the way to New Bark Town. A thousand gears turned in her mind, causing her head to spin.

"In the distant past, Suicune bonded with one of the dex holders. We had reason to believe that they were coming after her, so we deported her and her family to a different region. As a result, this caused our enemies to launch a full scale attack on the other dex holders in hopes that they can get an answer as to her whereabouts to subsequently find and control Suicune. As you know, this includes your parents.

"When we told your parents of the impending attack on them, we gave them an ultimatum. We could either deport them as well, in which they as well as you would have to start their lives anew in a different region under different aliases, or they could choose to stay and take their chances against this new threat. Of course, as the headstrong individuals your parents are, they decided to stay, but on one condition. You guys would have to remain safe and ignorant to their fates."

At this point, Chartreuse was crying. Orange was choking back tears herself. She felt sick. There was a silence as Elm formulated how to continue in the best way.

"We wondered how to get the three of you out in a timely manner before that attack could take place. However, we soon realized that Team Anima desires, at least for now, to remain anonymous, and that kidnapping well known Pokémon trainers such as your families would definitely draw too much unwanted attention towards them. We calculated the best possible time frame they would have to kidnap you and still remain somewhat anonymous, and it happened to coincide perfectly with the Summer Internship Program.

Elm stood up and turned his back on them, as if pained by the reactions they were giving him. Harley stood still and fixed her eyes on her toes.

Elm sighed. "It is very likely that your parents are gone."

_They didn't answer the phone._ Orange felt a tear roll down her cheek.

Elm turned back to face them. He was as expressionless as a slab of rock. "You were never to know of this whole ordeal, but we couldn't have anticipated this outcome.

"One of our anonymous holders who prefers to travel in the shadows still hangs around Johto. One night, Team Anima found him and tried to capture him. We realized that dexes transmit signals that can easily be intercepted by Team Anima's technology and subsequently give away one's position. He got away, but when he realized his device had betrayed him, he destroyed it and warned us. We immediately confiscated your parents' dexes and shut them down."

_Oh God._ Orange knew what was coming next.

"Like I said before, you were originally going to ride out the summer here while we planned our next move, but yesterday's events could have never been predicted. Orange, during your fight with Kadabra, did you turn the dex on?"

She nodded, not making eye contact.

"We should have removed the transmission signals earlier when we finally learned what caused them, but things just got so busy and it wasn't a pertinent threat anymore so we put it off. This whole thing is really my mistake. I realize now that we should have never agreed to keep this information from you. Orange, you did the right thing, but the signal from the dex you turned on gave away your position, and the woman you guys saw last night was most likely a member of Team Anima."

Elm paused for a long time as the three processed this information. Orange felt a rush of emotions course through her, contempt for Elm and Harley who knew this was going on the whole time, guilty that she had a hand in these events, detachment since her parents were gone, powerless because she could control nothing.

"For this reason, it is necessary for you to leave. The three of you are, as of right now, on the run. You can have no contact with me from here on out. I cannot know of your location or your motives. If Team Anima comes this way and decides to kidnap me, it is best for me to be in the dark.

"Harley will keep communication between us open, but when I say this, I mean that she will give you messages from me. She will not reciprocate. I cannot stress enough how important it is that you do not try to contact me from here on out."

"You're turning us out?" Chartreuse asked between sob-ridden breaths. "We're not ready for this."

"I know," Elm said. "That's why I'm telling you now that you are to run and never fight. Don't think you can stand a chance against these guys. They will rip you to shreds the minute they get the chance. I have already jeopardized our original plan, but I will not allow your parents' wishes to be unfulfilled."

"So our parents are gone and we can't even help?" Colby said quietly, apparently on the other side of the spectrum. "This is bull shit."

The whole table went quiet. Elm stared at him for a long time.

Orange realized Colby had a valid point. It was easy to place blame on Elm or Harley or even herself, but this was really no one's fault except Team Anima's. Even though she felt out of control, she could not let herself _be_ out of control. She sat up straighter and fought the lump in her throat. She needed to keep a level head, if not for herself, than for her parents and her new acquaintances.

"I know what happened is not fair, but these people don't fight fair. In order to ensure your safety, you need to remain anonymous. When you leave, you need to be sure that you don't attract very much attention to yourselves. If they find you, they will use you as leverage to get your parents to talk. That could mean a lot of things," Elm continued.

Orange swallowed her sorrow. "What else do we need to know?"

Underneath his exterior, Orange could tell that Elm was taken aback by her composure.

"It's important to remember that we are playing this strategically. If you guys threaten our next move in any way, it could result in a total loss for our side. You must stay quiet."

"And what is your next move?" Orange asked.

"Well, we're focusing now on damage control. Team Anima has definitely noticed that you guys were not with your parents and the next place they'll look is here since the dex was turned on. Fortunately enough, the Summer Internship Program has stayed out of the media so far so no one in the world has any idea that you guys are here. When you leave, we will quickly replace you with three other candidates, and when Team Anima realizes that it was one of them who turned the dex on, they will hopefully back off. After that, I don't know."

"Our next plan will hopefully be offensive," Harley said finally. "Supposing your parents have really disappeared, this information won't stay out of the media for long, and as far as they know, you guys were kidnapped too. You guys probably don't know, but you're faceless celebrities."

"Your parents have been very careful about keeping you guys out of the eye of the public because of all the danger they attract," Elm said. "This will pay off. A majority of people don't even know your first names let alone what you look like. Use this to your advantage."

"Speaking of the media," Harley said. "You guys must keep up to date with the news. It is the best indication about the whereabouts of Team Anima. Our one advantage now is that they cannot remain out of the public eye for much longer, but you guys can."

"Another thing you need to know," Elm started, "is that we have heard their method of brainwashing Pokémon is yet to be perfected. It often results in aggression and rogue behavior."

Orange looked up when she heard this information.

"We are almost certain Kadabra was under this control when it attacked you," Elm said to her. "It is important to be vigilant in regards to these Pokémon. There are probably many more Pokémon suffering the same fate as Kadabra throughout Johto."

"Anything else?" she said solemnly.

"One more thing," he added. "Since we can assume that your parents will never say anything to lead them to Suicune, Team Anima will be forced to come after you three next. You must remember that your safety is in numbers. You cannot separate."

* * *

><p>Char had been crying continuously ever since she heard the news. She and Colby began packing essentials, only the things they could carry with them. They each brought a pair of pajamas but no other clothes to change in to. The three of them would be abusing the Pokémon Center washing machines for the duration of their journey.<p>

Colby took a colder approach to the information Elm had provided. He packed his things quietly and shunned conversation and consolation with his cousin and the professor, his amber eyes hovering only over the backpack in which he soundlessly gathered his things. He seemed to be concentrating on not looking up.

Even though she tried desperately, Orange couldn't deny the feelings either. In one day her life had changed so drastically. The prior events had left her mentally crippled, out of options, out of control. Now she was left with no one but a helpless little girl, an angsty teenage boy, and a couple of novice strategists using them as if they were pawns whose only goal was to make it to the other side of the board so they could finally prove themselves. Inside, her spectrum of emotions ranged from uncomfortable to destructive, but she managed to pull off a cool exterior.

When she had finished packing, she joined her two new travelling companions at the front door. Harley and the professor stood along with them and waited for her.

Harley gave each one of them a hug. Orange realized how insignificant of a comfort it seemed in contrast with the news they had just been given, but she had taken comfort in it nevertheless.

Harley stood squarely in front of them and fished in a bag for the red devices that had ironically functioned to ruin Elm's master plot. She handed one to each of them.

"These were your parents'," she said. "I removed the component that causes the transmission to take place, so you guys should be free to use them as you wish. They will be majorly helpful when you get in a bind."

Orange recognized the dex as her father's. It suddenly occurred to her that she hadn't seen it in a very long time.

"Also, you should take these as well." Harley handed each one of them a set of Poké balls. "You need to build a strong team on your journey, just in case worse comes to worse."

Orange slid them into her bag.

"And finally, stay safe. I'll try always to be one step behind you in case you need me," Harley said with a comforting smile. Even in the midst of all this chaos, she still had a reassuring air to her. Colby and Char walked out first. Orange began to follow but turned to the shorter brunette first. "Thanks."

* * *

><p>The three walked in silence out to the New Bark Town gate. The Pokémon were all away in their Poké balls. The only sound they heard was the whistling of the wind. Orange let the silence persist for a long time. It had been a while since she had a chance to be alone with her thoughts. Now, however, it was as if she wanted nothing more than nothing to think about.<p>

After about a half-hour, she stopped walking. "Guys," she started. "What are we doing?"

They both stopped and turned to look at her, clutching their backpack handles like they were the only things left they could hang on to and were desperate to keep them by their side.

"We need to decide what we're doing, where we're going. What's our aim? What's our next move? We can't just aimlessly wander around Johto until something happens. We need a plan of action. We need to be ready for whatever happens next."

She took a step closer to them and, for the first time since she had met the two, successfully maintained eye contact with both of them.

"Elm is convinced that we can't safely act, but we can. We may not be able to fight, but we can gather information for him. We can get stronger along the way. We can help."

"What do you propose we do now?" Char asked.

Orange turned her head and looked around. "We've been walking a while," she started. "We're probably a good distance from New Bark Town by now. We should start training. The Pokémon in the area are evenly matched against ours. Let's take an hour or two to train, and we can camp on this spot for the night and continue to Cherrygrove tomorrow."

Colby and Char looked at each other and then nodded in unsure but stranded agreement. The three decided to split up.

* * *

><p>A few hours had passed and Orange had lost a considerable amount of battles against wild Pokémon. She had exhausted Peach early, who narrowly won a battle against a Pidgey and then lost to a Sentret. Pumpkin had done a little better, taking out two Sentret, but was currently on the brink of passing out and could hardly stand another fight.<p>

Orange wandered in a northerly direction while her friends went to the west and the south. She walked through a gate until she was no longer on route twenty-nine anymore. She kept walking until she met the face of a small cliff. For once in the time she had been in the area, the wind had stopped blowing. The setting sun cast a relaxed glow over the treetops. Orange felt, for once in her life, overlooked, or maybe it was just that she didn't care anymore.

She combed aimlessly through the grass, allowing the thoughts which penetrated her brain to finally erupt in her mind. Was she ever going to see her parents again? She didn't know exactly how willing this Team Anima would go to achieve what they wanted. She wondered about what it exactly was that they wanted in the first place. Control over Suicune seemed like symptom of a greater cause. And then there was Suicune, the same Suicune who touched foreheads with her just a day earlier. Should she have mentioned something to the professor about that interaction? Was it best not to? He did say to leave him in the dark.

"Why was I even born?" she asked herself in defeat.

Suddenly, she saw a rustling in the grass. She readied Pumpkin's Poké ball and tossed it in the air. Pumpkin landed in the grass. The Chikorita tried to maintain the cheerful expression, but it was easy to tell she was exhausted.

"This'll be the last one of the night," Orange said to her Pokémon. "I promise."

Orange followed the Pokémon in the rustling grass for a while before she had it cornered. The continuous threat finally drove it to lunge at Pumpkin. It wasn't going to make it away from this battle.

A blur of blue attempted to make impact with Pumpkin, but she easily dodged. Orange finally got a good look at the Pokémon they were pursuing. It was a stout, meager little Pokémon, but behind its brave eyes Orange could see fear. She pulled out her Poké dex, which she hadn't used since the Kadabra incident.

_**Phanpy,**_it chimed mechanically, _**the Long Nose Pokémon: It is strong despite its compact size. It can easily pick up and carry an adult human on its back.**_

_Poor little guy, _she thought. She could tell it was relatively young. It must have gotten separated from its mother or something. She couldn't leave it out here to fend for itself, no matter how strong the dex said it was.

In a change of heart she pulled out an empty Poké ball.

"Pumpkin," she directed. "We're catching this one."

The exhausted Chikorita let out a weak but firm cry.

"Tackle!" she yelled. Pumpkin lunged forward, but Phanpy leapt backwards before she could hit. With another lunge, it hit her squarely with its shoulder. Pumpkin staggered backwards with a cry.

Orange let out a low groan of frustration. She couldn't allow Pumpkin to take hits like that if she actually wanted to win this Pokémon, but she wasn't a good enough battler to win this at all. Pausing for a second to take in her surroundings, she formulated a new plan.

Phanpy was cornered in front of an inwardly curved cliff face. Pumpkin was directly seven or eight feet in front of it with Orange behind her. The tall, green grass offered a respectable area of camouflage for Orange's green Pokémon, but betrayed the Phanpy's blue skin. Orange looked up the cliff face and saw a small, sturdy-looking branch jutting out of a crack in the rock. It wasn't up terribly high, but there was no way she could reach it, let alone a couple of two-feet-tall Pokémon.

Orange snapped her attention back to the battle. Pumpkin and Phanpy maintained eye contact, but neither moved, both anticipating the other's movement. The one advantage Pumpkin had was to hide in the grass and find some way to strike when Phanpy let its guard down.

"Pumpkin," Orange finally yelled with a renewed conviction. "Stay low."

Pumpkin did as she was told and lowered herself so that her leaf was just barely visible over the tops of the grass. Orange could see her, but her tiny foe could not.

"Drive it further to the cliff!"

Pumpkin lurched forward, menacingly waving her leaf above the grass on occasion so as to scare the Phanpy in the other direction. It backed up apprehensively, but did not turn to run. Once it had backed far enough, Orange ordered Pumpkin to stop. The Chikorita flattened her leaf and stayed hidden.

Phanpy frantically turned its head left and right, waiting for the next move.

"Pumpkin!" Orange shouted. "Hang it from the branch!"

Pumpkin stood straight up suddenly and shot a Vine Whip, wrapping Phanpy firmly in her grip. With all her might she flung the tiny blue Pokémon up in the air as hard as she could. She then shot her vines up towards the branch, passing them over and resting their weight on it. Hanging loosely in the air, she weakly caught Phanpy by the back foot.

"Goma goma!" it cried from the air. Its tiny blue body writhed in fear.

Orange pulled out a Poké ball and chucked it at the Pokémon. The white light enveloped it and it came to the ground with a gentle thud. It rocked back and forth a couple of times before resting. Orange felt a rush of adrenaline course through her veins. In spite of the days horrible events, the setting sun and her new Pokémon exhilarated her.

She walked over and grabbed the Poké ball from the ground. The now even more miniature Phanpy stared up at her from inside the ball with fearful eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

Weariness clung to three kids on the following morning. The nightly low was reminiscent of early spring, and combined with all the things that went bump in the night, the three got a minimal amount of sleep. Despite their slight consciousness, all three of them still clung to the sleeping bags for warmth as they waited for the sun to rise completely.

Orange lied on her stomach, her red device in front of her. She scrolled through the features of the Poké dex. It was still fairly old, lacking many applications that would prove useful on a conventional journey. It did, however, have a few redeeming qualities. Despite its ability to read wild Pokémon, it recorded Pokémon Orange had caught, and when they were in her party, held accurate data as to their individual movesets and levels. Pumpkin led the three at level eleven, Peach at level four, and her new member of the team, Phanpy, at level ten.

All of the kids' Pokémon remained in their Poké balls. Last night's training was not very productive for any of them. Char did not last long in the wild with her two baby Pokémon. About a half hour into her training, her Pokémon fainted, and she had to rejoin with her brother. Colby, on the other hand, managed to win a few battles and raise Snub a level or two. Training, however, was most lucrative for Orange.

When they rejoined late at night, they literally had a hard time seeing each other, but it didn't matter much because they didn't share any words. They just unrolled their sleeping bags and went to bed. An uncomfortable silence settled over the three of them that morning, much like the day before.

Orange was almost asleep again when she heard Colby moving beside her. She looked over as he began to roll up his sleeping bag.

"We should get moving," he said.

Orange glared at him through lidded eyes. "It's finally getting warm, Colby. We should stay and rest."

"I don't think that's a good idea," he argued. "We need to get far from New Bark Town as soon as possible. Plus, we're vulnerable enough during the day. We can't be sleeping in the middle of the forest while the sun's high in the sky."

Orange propped herself up on her elbows, eyes open this time. "It's also hard to protect ourselves when we're half-asleep already. We should stay for a few hours, catch up on sleep a little, and then we can get moving to Cherrygrove and check into a Pokémon Center."

"Or we could get a move on now, get to Cherrygrove sooner, and then you can sleep all you want to," Colby said harshly.

Char listened to their argument with a silent voice. Already there was dissension in the group, and she felt helpless.

Colby stood above Orange with his arms folded. When Orange didn't move, he sighed in resignation and bent over to pick up his folded up sleeping bag. "Fine. Do what you want. I'm going to Cherrygrove."

He turned and started walking away.

"But—" Char started. She packed up quickly and followed him.

Orange watched them walk away. She groaned and cursed under her breath. After she had packed her things, she followed them.

…

No one said anything when she finally reached them. The uncomfortable silence spread over them quickly once again.

She pulled Phanpy's Poké ball out of her pocket and looked at him through the red plastic that separated them. It hadn't just been a rough night for the kids. Phanpy was crippled with fear all night and had a hard time falling asleep, but now she looked at him, his peaceful expression signaling the absence of the fear he had felt in the cold darkness.

Char watched her. "What are you going to name him?"

"I think he kinda looks like a Blueberry to me."

Char smiled for the first time in two days, looking at the new addition to the expedition team.

Colby walked squarely in front of them, not turning around. "How can you two even think of nicknames at a time like this? In case you hadn't noticed, we've got more important things to worry about."

Orange shot a look to Char, but it was returned. Char, instead, was fixated on the dirt she passed over step by step. Orange looked at her new Pokémon again. How simple of an existence it must be to only fear the things that go bump in the night, to fear only for the safety of oneself, and not for the safety of anything else.

Colby, again, managed to break into her thoughts.

"Look. I see Cherrygrove up ahead. I told you this was the better decision."

_I'm exhausted,_ Orange thought sardonically. It was almost three o'clock.

Once they had arrived at the city and dropped off their Pokémon with Nurse Joy, they separated for a much needed break from each other. Orange, who was still particularly tired and marginally annoyed with Colby's leadership, reserved a room for the three of them and decided she needed to go take a nap, and while Char was in the shower, Colby, who had not eaten at all that day, stuffed his face in the Pokémon Center buffet.

…

They stayed in the Cherrygrove City Pokémon Center for around three days. They took the time to recover from their night in Route 29. By this time, Orange's wounds from her battle with Kadabra had faded considerably, while the initial soreness from the beginnings of her journey had also seemed to subside.

The kids, with reasonably renewed spirits, plotted their next plan of action.

Orange sat at a buffet table with a map in front of her when Char and Colby, who had just walked in, went over to join her.

"Hey where'd you get that?" Colby asked.

"Oh, some guy thought it was necessary to give me a tour of the town, then he gave me this," she replied, eyes glued to the map. She looked up. "As much as we'd like to, we can't stay here forever. I've been looking for the best possible route for us to take away from Cherrygrove and we really only have one option. We have to head up Route 30 to Violet City. We can spend a little more time there."

Colby and Char glanced at each other and nodded in agreement.

"It's a lot greater distance from here to Violet than it was from New Bark Town to here, so we have to make sure we're as prepared as possible," Orange instructed.

"We don't have a lot of money," Char said meekly.

Orange glanced at her. "Apparently," Orange began, "before battles trainers make a wager on how much money they owe if they lose. If we win a few battles before we leave, we should be able to raise enough money to last us until Violet."

"If we win," Colby said. "I don't know if it's smart to squander the little money that we have on battles we probably won't win."

Orange sighed and leaned back in the booth. "How do you guys expect us to get any better at this if we don't try?" she asked harshly.

Colby opened his mouth to argue, but Char, with teary eyes, beat him to it. "I want to go home."

Orange and Colby looked at her.

"I-I need to go home."

"Char—," Colby started.

"No," Char said, finally swallowing her tears. "A long time ago, Mom gave me things, these two stones. She said one day they would help Iggy and Cleffy get stronger. I need to go back there and get them."

"Char that's not a good idea," Orange said bluntly. "The first place Team Anima will look for a couple of lost kids will be the home."

"Hold on," Colby argued. "They already looked and we weren't there. They won't go back to find us. If you want to stay here and gamble your money by all means, but I'm going to take Char and help her actually get stronger."

Orange paused and lowered her voice. "You don't know what you're going to find there."

"We do," Colby countered. "We're going to find the stones. You don't think any of our ideas are good, Orange. How are we supposed to be a team if you keep shooting us down?"

"Oh, I-I didn't—," Char stammered.

"No, Char. Let me talk," Colby said. "You are not the leader here Orange. We are a team, and we are all equal. We all have an equal say in the next decision, and Char and I say we go to our house. That's majority rules. Let's go."

Abruptly, Colby stood up from the soft red booth seat and headed out the door. Char tried really hard not to make eye contact with Orange, who was feeling particularly attacked in their previous conversation. She sat for a long time with a frown on her face.

"Listen, Orange," Char said finally. "I'm sorry about him. I know you're just trying to do what you think is best, but he is too. He just…doesn't really know how to go about it I guess."

Orange stood up without acknowledging the girl sitting across from her. She folded up the map nicely and stuck it in her bag.

"Orange?" Char began. "I hope you'll come to our house with us. We could really use you in case things get out of hand."

Orange walked away.

…

Colby steered the speedboat as the girls watched the city grow smaller on the horizon. On the west side, however, a big beautiful white beach house grew larger and larger. Its visage was impeccably calm and comforting which Orange felt was ironic considering what had inevitably taken place there just a few days before. She wondered if her own house looked as peaceful as this one.

Colby began to slow down as they neared what appeared to be, in all simplicity, a garage in the water. He hit a button on the small speedboat and the closed garage door slowly began to separate from the sea. After gently coasting to a wooden dock that connected itself to the walls, he began to tie up the boat to the wooden pegs located on each corner of the dock. Orange and Char stepped out.

The garage was fairly plain. Just two torches located on either black wall kept the small expanse lit, exposing nothing save for a small staircase leading up to the actual house.

Char wasted no time in ditching her companions.

"Is someone here?" Orange asked, turning to Colby.

Colby glanced at her, confused. Then he realized she was talking about the torches. "Oh, no," he began. "Those torches were lit by my father's Charizard. They haven't gone out as long as I've been alive. I'm not sure if they ever even will."

"Do you know why your parents chose to live here?" Orange asked.

Colby finished tying the last knot and stood up.

"Well," he began. "Knowing what I know now I assume it's because we're out of reach to the public. Still, my parents frequently visited the city at least once or twice a week. It's also kind of hard to get to out here. My mom's Blastoise was often never out of the water. I guess Mom was trying to protect us just in case anyone got too close."

…

Char took the flight of glass stairs to the second floor. She walked past the door to her brother's room and the door to the adjoining bathroom and stopped in front of her own. A sudden flash of white light startled her, and when she turned around, Iggy and Cleffy beamed up at her with their bright, positive gazes. She gave them a crestfallen smile before taking a deep breath and turning the knob.

She felt a lump in her throat when she walked in. Her room was cleaner than she left it. The white plush carpet was no longer littered with clothes and stuffed Pokémon. She could actually walk to her full sized bed without stepping on anything. Walking over to her bedside drawer, she pulled out two stones and then collapsed on her down comforter. Cuddling a pillow, she closed her eyes and began to cry.

Iggy and Cleffy obliviously played together on the floor. Iggy's attention was broken when a small bubble floated gently out of the closet door open just a crack.

…

Colby walked Orange up the garage staircase. When he opened the door they emerged onto a white-wooded kitchen floor. The white oak cabinets and marble countertop accented the floors and the walls. Orange walked over and opened up a cupboard.

"Colby, we should take the food out of your pantry with us."

Colby glowered at her. "Do you not have boundaries? This is my house."

Orange was taken aback. She stopped what she was doing and held an intimidating gaze with him. She closed the cupboard.

"What is your problem with me?" she asked quietly. "I'm trying to help us."

"You're being bossy," he said emphatically. "I won't let you ruin Elm's plan again like you did the first time."

He turned from her and began walking towards the stairs again. For the second time that day, Colby had rendered Orange speechless. This time, however, she kept her composure. She pulled out a Poké ball and tossed toward the boy. After hearing the ball collide with the floor, Colby stopped and turned.

"You want to fight? Then fight me like a real trainer," she said.

…

Char sat up in her bed and ran a hand through her hair. She peered out the window which overlooked the sandbar. It was getting fairly dark, so she couldn't see well, but it looked as if the beach had suddenly turned red and began moving towards the house.

As more and more bubbles filled the room, Iggy and Cleffy cooed louder with curiosity.

…

Colby drew a Poké ball and stood squarely opposite from Orange and Pumpkin. He tossed it into the air and the white shimmering light revealed his sole Pokémon. The differences between Pumpkin and Snub were night and day. The grass-type, even in the midst of the tense situation, maintained her cheerful disposition. On the other hand, Snub's vicious gaze, while having little effect on Pumpkin, succeeded in unnerving Orange.

_What am I even trying to accomplish here?_ Orange thought.

Orange and Colby remained hopelessly deadlocked for an uncomfortably long period of seconds. Finally, Colby directed an attack.

"Snub," he said coolly. "Bite."

Snub took a moment to bare her sharp set of teeth before lunging at the bright grass type. Pumpkin's expression suddenly turned worried. She turned to the side right before Snub was about to clamp onto her face. Instead, Snub had her jaws wrapped around Pumpkin's flank.

Pumpkin cried out in pain, trying to shake off her friend.

"Pumpkin!" Orange cried out desperately.

Colby shot Orange a smug grin. "Orange. You don't have what it takes."

Orange frowned at his comment. She tried to remember Pumpkin's exact moves as she last read them on the Pokedex.

"Pumpkin, use Poisonpowder."

Pumpkin, still stuck in Snub's mouth and visibly in pain, gently waved her big leaf over Snub's face, allowing small purple spores to land onto Snub's face. Her grip weakened and she looked ill.

Chikorita shook her off and triumphantly returned to stand in front of her trainer.

Colby looked at his ailing Pokémon in shock. Snub tried to glower but its previous ferocity was lost in the poisoning.

"Still think I don't have what it takes?" Orange asked him.

He let out a frustrated sigh. "Yes! You are just as inexperienced as I am at this!"

"I'm trying!" she yelled back at him. "Do you think it's easy for me? At least you still have family with you!"

"Snub!" he barked. "Go in for a Tackle!"

"No Pumpkin!" Orange countered. "Get under her!"

Snub lunged once again at her adversary, but this time Pumpkin crouched on the ground and before Snub could make impact, she pressed her leaf mid-air to Snub's underbelly and tossed her across the room. Snub collided with an end table which splintered feebly onto the ground. She pressed herself back up.

"Razor Leaf!"

Snub waved the large leaf atop her head and a flurry of green crescents spun towards Snub. The leaves missed the pink dog Pokémon by a hair and instead stuck into the white velvet couch.

"Maybe I'd be more inclined to trust you if you didn't walk around all the time like none of this has any effect on you!"

"What do you want from me?" Orange shouted. "I'm sorry I'm not going mope around like your sister and I sure as hell will not take the hot-headed approach to everything like you! Is that what you call dealing with your emotions?"

"Tackle! Again!"

…

Char squinted through teary eyes down towards the dim beach. She parted the blinds a little to get a better look. Turning to look towards her Pokémon, a room full of bubbles caught her attention instead.

"What the?" she muttered, standing up. Iggy and Cleffy hopped up playfully as they tried to pop all the bubbles that slowly rose to the roof of Char's room.

Char walked nimbly towards her closet. Apprehensively sticking out her hand, she gently pushed the door back. Inch by inch the light from the room illuminated the darkness.

She peered in.

Suddenly something came up behind her and latched itself onto her long rope of sandy-blonde hair. She let out an ear-piercing shriek and flailed around. From the parted closet door, two more of the mysterious Pokémon lurched forward menacingly snapping their pinchers together. Iggy and Cleffy ran out the door in fear.

Char got a good look at the Pokémon currently attached to her head and screamed once again. The other two lunged at her but she backed up and jumped up on the bed. She didn't know a lot of Pokémon, but she was certain these Pokémon were not supposed to have eyes like that.

…

Snub, still suffering from poison, regained her composure circled around her foe until Pumpkin was disoriented. Once Snub had a clear shot, she lunged.

"Chiko!" she cried as Snub hit her squarely in the flank again. Pumpkin staggered and fell, but she was far from giving up.

Before Colby could give his next direction, everyone's attention was interrupted by a scream.

"Char?" Colby shouted. Forgetting the entire situation, he dashed as fast as he could out of the room and up the stairs.

Snub gave one heavy breath before collapsing onto the ground. Orange walked over to the pink Pokémon and lifted her up gently, holding her close.

"You're gonna be okay," she said quietly. Orange lifted her head and looked out of the sliding glass door located in front of her. Outside, hordes of Krabby began converging on the house.

"Oh, shit."


	6. Chapter 6

The Krabby gnashed their pinchers viciously as they lunged at the window. With every collision, the glass door reverberated as if threatening at any moment to break. Orange stumbled backwards with Snub in her arms.

"Colby!" she shouted. Whipping around, she was about to run to the staircase and up to the second floor, but she spotted more of the encroaching Pokémon, this time actually in the living room. Pumpkin cocked her head at her trainer's expression without noticing the incoming threat.

"Pumpkin! Look out!"

Two Krabby lunged forward, but the small grass-type whipped around in time to see them. She gave a worried look, but then quickly regained her composure and swept her leaf out in front of her. A barrage of sharp leaves struck the two Pokémon, sending them backwards.

Orange ran to the bottom of the staircase.

"We need to go!"

* * *

><p>Iggy and Cleffy ran down the dim hallway, tears streaming down their faces. Colby passed them on his way up. He ran into Char's room and saw quickly what was happening. Char struggled on top of the bed with the Krabby latched onto her hair, while the other two slowly moved toward her, snapping the pinchers.<p>

"Colby!" she screamed. "There's something wrong with them!"

He ran and leapt across the two Krabby on the floor as they tried to grab at him. Once landing on the bed, he used all his strength to pry open Krabby's claw. Char let out another scream in pain. Finally, Colby managed to pull the Krabby off her hair. He chucked it to the floor and they jumped off the bed together.

Colby had Char's arm firmly in his grip as they scrambled through the hallway and down the stairs. Orange was waiting there for them with Snub in her arms and Iggy, Cleffy, and Pumpkin by her side.

"There's a whole army of them, Colby. They're trying to get into the house," Orange told him.

Letting go of Char's arm, he took his injured Pokémon in his arms. Colby's attention broke when he heard the glass door breaking. Char and Orange were already on their way to the kitchen door leading into the garage.

Char grabbed the brass handle and pulled the door open. From the staircase, four more Krabby lunged forward. With a scream, she staggered backward into Orange.

"Go! Pumpkin!"

The Chikorita dashed forward and waved her leaf one more time. The Krabby were knocked backwards with ease. Orange led the way down with Pumpkin in front of her. Char, Iggy, and Cleffy took up the middle, while Colby held the door closed.

"Char!" he yelled. "Get the boat ready!"

Pumpkin and Orange took out the last remaining Krabby in the garage while Char went to work on untying the ropes.

"Pumpkin," Orange said. "Help Char untie the boat."

Pumpkin bounced up to Char's side and began sending wave after wave of Razor Leaf to whittle the thick ropes down until they broke. Orange ran back up the staircase and helped Colby barricade the door.

"Okay," he said to her breathily. "Maybe you were right."

"It doesn't matter," she replied. "Let's just focus on getting out of here."

Colby gave her a tired nod. "I trust you."

"We're ready!" Char's voice carried up the corridor.

"Go start the boat. I'll keep the door shut a little longer," Orange said.

He nodded and ran down the staircase to the speedboat. Fumbling with the keys and the ignition, Colby managed to get the boat started just as the Krabby started finding their way under the garage door.

"Let's go Orange!" Colby yelled. She heard the garage door open. With an apprehensive sigh, Orange locked the kitchen door and sprinted as fast as she could down the steps. She heard the door splinter behind her.

She watched as her companions fought the Krabby that tried to file into the boat. Orange took a leap in, causing the boat to rock back and forth a little, but still Colby wasted no time in backing out and driving away.

* * *

><p>The only thing audible during the boat ride was the whir of the engine and the sound of the waves splashing gently against the side of the boat. Char hadn't turned her head away from her house since they left. Thoughts of the destruction that must be taking place there exploded through her mind like a nuclear bomb. Her childhood home was being reclaimed by tainted nature. For some reason, the tears didn't come this time. Instead all she felt was bitter hatred.<p>

Colby, on the other hand, fought the tears the whole way back to Cherrygrove.

"Orange," he said, his meager voice struggling to carry over the noise of the drive. His wavy blonde hair flowed gently in the breeze.

Orange turned to face him.

"I'm sorry," he said, "for everything. You were right. Shooting down all your ideas is no way to deal with my emotions. I know if we're going to have to work as a team, we actually need to listen to each other."

Orange gave him a comforting half-smile and nodded gently without saying anything. A lot weighed on her mind right now.

Looking into those Krabby's eyes, she felt the same blood-curdling chill run up and down her body as she did when she was attacked by the Kadabra. These poor Pokémon, there must have been a hundred of them, were all under Team Anima's careless brainwashing.

That begged the question, what were they doing on the island in the first place? Did they get away from their captors, or did Team Anima leave them there for someone to find? Surely Blue and Green's disappearance would be noticed, as would her own parents. Someone would come looking for them, even though their homesteads were fairly difficult to reach.

If Anima had left them there intentionally, did that mean they were resorting to terrorism?

Orange mulled the clues over in her head. Control over Suicune was the priority, according to Elm, but why? No one knew much about Suicune, except that it was a legendary, and probably pretty powerful. And their method of brainwashing was unperfected, which meant the Krabby that attacked them must have just been trials. If they had the resources to brainwash hundreds of Pokémon at once, and their means was to actually control them, what could they be doing?

She felt sick thinking that there might be brainwashed Pokémon around her own house. Pokémon on Mt. Silver were dangerously strong. She hoped no one would go looking, for their own safety.

Colby slowed as he approached the shoreline, after he docked the boat in the marina, the group decided together that one more night in the Pokémon Center would be the best choice, considering the moon was up high and they were entirely unprepared to travel. Collectively, they all could use the rest.

After dropping off their Pokémon with Nurse Joy, they all adjourned to their room.

* * *

><p>Orange slid the money across the counter.<p>

"Thank you," she said to the cashier with a smile. She grabbed her plastic bag and walked out the sliding glass door of the Poké Mart out to her comarades.

"You guys ready?" she asked.

The three of them spent all morning battling low-level trainers. They had gained more than they lost and were now better equipped for the long trek to Violet City. The siblings gave her a nod. They walked over to the nearest bench and set down their bags, equally divvying up their load.

Orange bought some matches. She hoped that with Pumpkin's Razor Leaf, they might collect enough wood to keep a fire going so they could actually stay warm throughout the night. Orange stocked up on potions and other necessities for Pokémon just in case they got into some fights along the way. She also stocked up on food not only for the Pokémon, but for them as well. She bought a fifteen-pack of bottled water, which they distributed five for each of them. That took up a lot of space, so she had to sacrifice capacity they could use to potentially take more useful things.

Orange ran through her mind some of the kinks they still had to work out. She realized a lot of their problems would be solved if they only had a fire-type Pokémon on their team. A Pokémon that could easily start fires, purify lake water, cook food so they could have actual meals, and keep them warm during the night without having to constantly worry about starting a forest fire. She made a mental note to add a fire-type to her team as soon as possible.

She estimated about a five-to-seven day trip to Violet based on the pace they were going from New Bark Town.

None of them wanted to leave Cherrygrove. Memories of their trek from New Bark Town succeeded in fostering emotions of apprehension and anxiety, but they didn't have much of a choice.

* * *

><p>They made it a good distance out of Cherrygrove before the sun began it's daily slumber. As the day's last light dwindled, the three kids set up camp. A familiar unsettling silence overcame the three of them as they took a minute to rest. Colby sipped periodically from a bottle of water while Orange sat against a tree, Peach curled peacefully in her lap. Char stood over them restlessly.<p>

"I'm going to go for a walk," she said sharply. Neither of them replied.

Char walked along the rolling plains as the last remnants of the sun began to wave its goodbyes with hues of pink and orange. Iggy and Cleffy bounced blissfully beside her, but their cheeful moods did nothing for Char. She slugged her way forward, barely even noticing her Pokémon beside her.

Char came to a stop in front of a small pond. She knelt down and looked at her reflection in the water. Over the course of a week she felt like she had already aged so much, but in reality the only thing that seemed to change about her was the look in her eyes. Her expression was the only thing that changed.

Char staggered backwards as her reflection in the water began to ripple. With a soft splash, a Pokémon lept out of the pond. Droplets of water glittered in the dim sunlight as they cascaded back down. The Pokémon landed squarely on the grass and gave Char a curious look.

Iggy and Cleffy, now fully attentive, hid behind Char as she held this Pokémon's gaze. Char fumbled for her Pokédex from her bag. She pulled it out and flipped it open.

_**Poliwag, the Tadpole Pokémon: Its skin is so thin, its internal organs are visible. It has trouble walking on its newly grown feet.**_

The tiny blue Pokémon chimed before it took a hop forward. It playfully sprayed her with a cool jet of water and cheekily leapt back into the pond. She gasped as it soaked her face and seeped into her clothing. For a split second she was taken aback, but then suddenly a wave of joy overtook her. Her inhibitions fell away as she began to laugh uncontrollably. Her sudden bout of happiness inspired senses of comfort in her two baby Pokémon. She threw herself on the ground and stared up into the painted sky as her Pokémon rolled and cooed next to her. These feelings had become so foreign and unfamiliar that she almost forgot how nice it was to let go.

* * *

><p>The sun had sunk completely now as Char made her way back to the campsite. Her blissful attitude fought against the pain and fear she was experiencing and continued to win. She walked with a peaceful resignation, a calm accpetance to the state of her life. As the stars twinkled way above her head, people all around Johto were turning themselves in for the night, blissfully ignorant of the silent threat facing them.<p>

_The lucky ones,_ she thought.

She hardly noticed the brisk night air until she finally made it back to camp and felt the warmth of the fire on her skin. Orange was curled up in a tight ball in her sleeping back as close as safely possible to the fire. Colby sat catatonically on the ground, staring into the flames. He busied himself by pulling apart a small stick.

"You're still awake?" Char asked quietly.

"Yeah," he replied, "Wasn't sure if you were still alive."

His sharp, bitter tone stung her a little.

"I just needed some space," she said.

"Space isn't a luxury we can afford anymore."

Char sat down next to him and put a lanky arm around his shoulders, giving his arm a rub. Her eyes glazed over as she looked into the fire.

"Remember when we were kids and we played along the beach together? You'd always get so annoyed with me because I'd never let you explore by yourself. And then tone time, I got sick and couldn't come play with you. You finally got what you wanted, and then you went and fell down that really steep hill along the dunes and broke your arm. Mom and Dad were worried sick because they couldn't find you for hours. I felt so helpless lying in bed because I couldn't do anything. I wasn't there with you, and I couldn't get up and help them. I think I cried for an hour straight."

Colby turned his gaze on her. She continued.

"When they finally found you, you weren't crying. You pulled yourself up and found a way back home. After that happened, I always felt like the odd sheep of the family. You, Mom, and Dad are all so brave, but I'm just a coward."

Colby opened his mouth like he was about to say something. Char turned and held his gaze as she went on.

"I'm not cut out for the life we're living right now. I'm not tenacious like you and Orange, but that's okay. I'm not giving up. For Mom and Dad's sake, for your sake, and no matter where I go off by myself, and no matter what happens to me out there, I'll never give up trying to find you again."

Colby broke eye contact and got lost in the fire. Char eventually did the same, her soft brown hair blowing gently in the cool breeze. The pine needles rustled gently, filling in the silence. He finally stood up, the crackling fire illuminating the sharp angles of his face and the deep sepia color of his eyes.

"We should get some sleep," he muttered. He grabbed the bucket of water and put out the fire.


	7. Chapter 7

**This chapter is a little slower, but a lot of important things happen, so I hope you enjoy! :)**

* * *

><p>The first signs of the sun illuminated the plains when Orange woke from her night's sleep. The cold, hard ground left her limbs sore, but she was getting used to the pain. She was actually beginning to enjoy it. It reminded her that even though her emotions were numb, her body wasn't.<p>

She rose earlier than her companions, noticing Char's petite frame curled up in her sleeping bag. Orange was briefly reminded of Colby's attempts at persuading Orange that it was a good idea to leave and go look for his sister. Orange fervently defended her opinion that it wasn't a good idea for all three of them to split into different areas in such an unfamiliar territory, and she didn't want to leave with him just in case Char came back and found them both gone.

Colby had eventually come around, but not without a fight. Orange wished he had more faith in her and his sister, and while he seemed to be coming around to the idea of teamwork, he still worried about them far too much.

She lit a small fire as the first indications of the sun began to warm the earth. Purifying some pond water, she washed up quickly while the twins were still asleep. Afterwards, she let out her Pokémon for some early morning training.

The first soft white light revealed her sleepy mouse Pokémon. Peach gave a yawn and a stretch as a greeting before chiming softly. Pumpkin greeted her trainer with a cheerful cry while Blueberry looked around nervously before walking slowly towards her, begging to be picked up. She knelt down beside him and gave him a soft pat on his blue head. He was still just a baby, probably even younger than Peach. He would take a while to come around. She wrapped him in her arms and stood up. He nuzzled into the crook of her arm.

* * *

><p>Orange enjoyed the stillness of the early morning as she walked silently with her Pokémon through the trees. The faint hum of the bug-types reverberated softly against the leaves and left the heavily wooded area with a sense of hidden life. She stopped for a second to take it all in.<p>

She turned around when she heard a quiet sneeze. All three of her Pokémon had been consumed by the tall grass. Peach let out a small cry and quickly scampered up the nearest tree. He peered down at her and his two teammates before letting out a tiny huff and sitting back against the trunk, as if already exhausted and ready to take a nap.

Orange internally admitted defeat as she didn't know what to do now. Training was still unfamiliar to her. She still didn't know how to go about hunting wild Pokémon let alone fighting them in their natural habitats. She let out a small sigh of resignation just as she heard rustling nearby.

She pivoted quickly and contemplated a plan of a attack. Maybe it was a Pidgey and Peach could dive-bomb it with a Volt Tackle. Maybe a Caterpie was inching its way across the ground and Pumpkin could make quick work of it with a Tackle. Or maybe it was finally something she could use Blueberry to fight with.

Orange jumped slightly, taken aback when the thing before her was indeed not a Pokémon, but a human.

"Oh jeez! Sorry, didn't mean to frighten you there," the boy said brightly.

A frown rippled across her slightly tanned face, contorting her light green eyes. "Who are you?" she asked as if it were strange she didn't already know.

The boy eased his expression into one of complacency. Orange got a good look at his dark brown irises now that his eyes were fully open. He held a youthful exuberance about him, but Orange could tell he had been recently worn by a journey. He must have been an experienced trainer.

"My name's Oliver," he said, sticking out a rough, but comforting hand. She shook it gently. "I'm from Goldenrod City, but I recently just travelled the Kanto region. Elm recently came in contact with me for an internship offer that I applied for in the spring. I guess I'm one of the lucky recipients!"

Orange felt a strange mixture of feelings stir inside of her, but managed to pull off an aloof expression. So this was one of the replacements. Elm was pulling out all the stops now. Sending in an experienced trainer for the internship? As far as Orange knew, this was unlikely.

"Oh yeah I've heard of that," Orange replied awkwardly. "So are you on your way to New Bark Town now?"

"Yep!" he replied enthusiastically, adopting the same joyous expression. His eyes twinkled with delight. "But I seemed to have gotten a little turned around."

Orange managed a smile. "Well, I can walk you back to our camp and direct you how to get to Cherrygrove from here."

"That sounds great," he said between a smile. "So, what are you doing out here anyway?"

_Well you see it all started with this Kadabra,_ Orange thought.

"Ah well," she began, avoiding eye contact, "I'm a new trainer and I was hoping to get some training in around here but I'm not having much luck."

He gave her a charming smirk, not like the smirk one would want to slap off of someone's face. This one was laced with good intentions. Running a hand through his light brown hair, he flashed her a full cheesy grin and squinted his eyes in a charming way.

"Well, you know, you can gain a lot of experience from battling other trainers you meet on the road. I'm making it a tradition to start each new journey with new Pokémon, so how about you battle with me and this Teddiursa I just caught a few days ago?"

Orange finally relaxed as Oliver's carefree attitude proved to be infectious.

"That sounds great to me."

* * *

><p>Oliver lead Orange a ways back where he came from to a clearing just big enough for a Pokémon battle. Peach reluctantly followed them through the treetops, but made it obvious to everyone involved that he would be sitting this battle out. Orange decided she wouldn't have used him anyway. If Oliver was comfortable with using his new Pokémon, then she was comfortable with using her newest.<p>

Oliver held a steady, peaceful gaze with his opponent at the other end of the clearing. He stood there with a content, half-smile on his face and one hand in the pocket of his brown trousers.

"Ready when you are!" he said coolly.

Orange let out an apprehensive sigh before she turned to her two viable Pokémon. Pumpkin sat with an equally cheery expression as her opponent's, but Blueberry looked nervous. Orange knelt down in the tall grass in front of him and offered a generous, comforting pat on the head.

"Blueberry," she said calmly, "do you think you can do this battle for me?"

Blueberry gazed in her eyes before standing and trying as hard as he could to walk confidently in front of her. Everyone involved could tell he was badly shaking.

"Your friend's a little scared," Oliver said charmingly. "Don't worry, we'll go easy on ya." He offered her a wink before pulling out a Poké ball and tossing it into the air. "Let's go, Poe!"

A small, brown Pokémon with a crescent-shaped marking on its head appeared out of the light of the Poké ball and stood innocently in the clearing. It cocked its head to the side at the Phanpy standing before it. Orange realized she didn't know what this Pokémon was, and she couldn't check because pulling out the Pokédex meant revealing more information to this boy than she was supposed to be letting on. She also realized she had no idea what moves Blueberry could even use. What was she thinking in agreeing to this Pokémon battle?

Poe, in about as menacing a way as a tiny furry creature can, put one paw up to its maw and began to lick. Blueberry shook feebly in the presence of such an obviously aggressive Pokémon. Oliver gave an amused smile before shouting out an attack.

"Poe! Use Fury Swipes!"

The menacing creature clumsily walked towards its fear-stricken opponent.

"Blueberry get out of the way."

Poe had not yet reached its opponent, and still the Phanpy stood shaking.

"Blueberry..."

Poe reached one honey-soaked paw into the air raked down across Blueberry's flank. The timid blue Pokémon let out a distressed yelp as paw after sweet-tasting paw scraped his body.

"Blueberry just run," Orange tried to coach. She closed her eyes in frustration, turning slightly red at the representation of her training skills.

Blueberry threw himself on the ground and struggled more than necessary. Meanwhile, Poe's attack showed no signs of letting up. Orange felt helpless by her Pokemon's inability to perform. Suddenly, Blueberry rolled over on his back, and in sheer panic, he began to kick and scream at his opponent violently, sending the furry brown Pokémon far into the air. Orange looked at the battlefield in surprise.

Poe hit the ground with a thud before rolling over and not attempting to get back up.

"Well," Oliver began, "in an interesting turn of events it seems as if you won that one." He pulled out a Poké ball and recalled his Pokémon. After a few seconds, Blueberry finally settled down and opened his eyes. To his surprise, his attacker was gone. He stood up carefully and looked around before glancing at his trainer.

"Yeah I guess you went too easy on me," Orange said to him with a small smile. "Blueberry, you won." Pumpkin gave him an enthusiastic cheer from behind them. The baby Phanpy crawled feebly back to Orange and she picked him up, cradling him in her arms.

Oliver walked over to them. "That's some Flail he's got there."

"Yeah," Orange said, peering into Blueberry's black eyes. "We'll work on it."

* * *

><p>As the two of them walked back to her camp in the early morning sun, Orange learned a lot about Oliver, who seemed to talk consistently, but she didn't really mind. Oliver was born and raised in Goldenrod City, and at the age of ten he eagerly left home to begin his journey in the Kanto region. He explained that travelling was not as easy as he expected at age ten, and he almost lost his life to the wilderness on many occasions, but those experiences helped him grow. After about a year and a half, he had beaten all the gym leaders in Kanto, and subsequently realized that battling was not his calling.<p>

"So then I went back home to Goldenrod and took up a job at my grandparents' daycare center. Working there for the two years really helped me decide that I want to be a Pokémon breeder, so that's why I signed up for the internship program. I want to learn as much about Pokémon as a I can in order to best determine a Pokémon's potential."

Oliver gave off a very experienced attitude behind his lax demeanor. Orange felt almost intimidated by him. He was wise for his age, already knew what he wanted to do, wasted no time in developing his skills. He was driven, not afraid. She wondered briefly if he'd always been like this, or if the constant near-death experiences fostered these feelings inside of him. If so, maybe there was hope for her yet. Although her aspirations in life had recently been pushed to the bottom of the list of important things.

He abruptly turned his head to her, his wavy brown hair bouncing in the breeze. "So what about you?"

"Uh, what about me?" she asked.

"Yeah, like, tell me about you. All we've done is talk about me. Where are you from? What are you doing? What do you want to be? What are your goals in life?" he said.

_Oh shit, _she thought. _What about me? I can't tell him anything._

"Well," Orange began shakily. "I'm from New Bark Town."

There was a slight pause. Oliver looked at her silently as if urging her to continue. She sighed.

"A few weeks ago, my friends and I decided New Bark Town was too boring, so we planned out this journey. We're old for beginning trainers, but all we really want to do is see the world. We don't have a lot of goals, just looking for our callings," Orange said, mustering up a bland, forgetable lie.

_Cool,_ she thought as she felt her stomach implode.

Oliver gave her a nod. "That's totally okay. I didn't know what I wanted to do when I left home the first time either. You'll definitely learn a lot about yourself on the open road, though."

After a few more minutes of awkward small talk, the two of them came upon the camp. The sun was lofted high in the sky by now. Orange guessed it was eleven o'clock easily. Colby and Char sat in silence around the fire pit, each fiddling with something in their bags. Both were profoundly surprised when they looked up to see a strange boy in their camp, one escorted by Orange no less. If any of them were to bring strange boys back to camp, Orange was the least likely.

Orange briefly and awkwardly introduced everyone before directing Oliver to Cherrygrove. The trio watched him walk away for a long time in silence.

Char turned to her "He's going to meet Professor Elm?"

Orange nodded in response. "Meet our replacement, number one of three."

* * *

><p>After the steady drizzle of night three, Orange realized that among the kinks they needed to work out, shelter was one of them. Colby and Orange spent the entire next day drying their exposed items. The rain soaked through their sleeping bags, clothes, and bags, altogether ruining some of their food. Char spent the day resting from a harsh cold set on by the never-ending drizzle. On the next day, with Char's blessing, the trio decided to keep moving, already set back a day.<p>

The steady rain proved to be a continuing hassle for them until they came upon an abandoned house in the northerly part of route towards the mountains. It was a quaint cottage, a little messy inside and out. Orange propped the unlocked door open and allowed Char and Colby to enter. Orange estimated that the house had been empty for two or three months. Things were fairly upkept, but there were loose papers strewn all over the floor, boxes upon boxes full of books set aside in random places, and overturned desk drawers on the table. Somebody needed to leave in a hurry.

Char hobbled feebly into the hallway to find a bedroom. She weakly grabbed a door handle and pulled it open. The bedroom was consumed in darkness, but Char could make out the figure of a large bed and a dresser. She peeled her wet clothes off and walked into the room. Shuffling through the dresser, she pulled out an oversized pair of sweatpants and a big sweatshirt. Climbing onto the soft satin sheets, she quickly fell asleep.

The trio spent the next two days in the cottage as both the temperature and their spirits were back on a steady rise. Char recuperated quickly, and in the meantime, Colby and Orange sparred with each other, getting in as much training as they possibly could. Orange loaned Pumpkin to Colby briefly so they could have two-on-two battles in the small clearing outside of the house.

"You have to get yourself another Pokémon, Colby," Orange said, winded from training. "Snub's not gonna cut it forever."

"You're right," Colby agreed with a sigh, handing Pumpkin's Poké ball back to its rightful owner.

The sun had dipped down considerably, the only light left in the day peaking up over the deep green trees and craggy mountains. Orange busied herself in the kitchen, fixing up a dusty can of soup she found in the pantry for the three of them. Colby was outside, picking berries off the bushes surrounding the house.

"Mada!" A piercing shriek cut through air. Colby whipped his head around, clutching Snub's ball in his other hand. The bushes across the clearing rustled violently. Colby stood up in apprehension when a frail Pokémon hobbled its way into the clearing. It let out a feeble cry before falling to the ground.

He nimbly made his way over to the Pokémon, still clutching Snub's ball just in case it was dangerous. Its scrawny frame immediately registered in his head. It was a Bellsprout. Colby knelt down over it, and the small grass-type held his gaze with pure fear.

Suddenly, the nearest treetop rustled with life. Three Pidgey emerged from the dense canopy and swooped down on their prey. Colby looked up at them and immediately recognized the glazed, soulless look in their eyes. Just as they primed their talons for the next attack, Colby briskly covered the injured Pokémon with his body. Three sets of talons scraped over his back.

He let out a yelp of pain which carried into the cottage. Orange dropped the wooden spoon and ran over to the window.

"Peach!" she called to her Pokémon. The tiny mouse jolted up quickly from his place of slumber on the recliner and followed Orange out when she yanked the door open.

Colby, still in pain, threw Snub's ball onto the grass. The pink dog Pokémon materialized there next to him and growled ferociously at the three birds. They all turned their attention to their new prey.

Orange stood on the front steps, taking in the scene. "Peach! Up the gutter!"

Peach scaled the quaint cottage's gutter with ease and scampered across the black shingled roof.

"Volt Tackle!" Orange ordered. Peach's yellow pelt glowed with sparks of electricity as he dashed across the roof and leapt bravely into the air. Just as the three birds were about to dive-bomb on Snub, Peach made impact with one and brought it to the ground. The remaining two Pidgey swooped down on Snub. She caught the first one by the talon in her jaws, but quickly let go when the second one made impact with her back and began to lift her into the air. Colby gently lifted the injured Pokémon in his arms and ran back to Orange.

"Take him," Colby said. Orange cradled the frail body in her arms as Colby pivoted and ran back to Snub.

Snub struggled relentlessly as the bird carried her higher and higher into the air. Colby stopped underneath the three struggling bodies, desperately wondering what he could do.

"Peach!" Orange shouted, "Volt Tackle off Colby!"

Peach reared back again, sparks flying off his body. He started running and climbed nimbly up Colby's legs and arm to his shoulder. He leapt with all his might up into the air and made contact with the Pidgey that had Snub in its talons. The three of them came crashing to the ground. Peach and the Pidgey didn't get back up.

Snub managed to push herself off the ground as the last Pidgey came in for a dive-bomb. Snub had mere seconds to miss the hit, but managed to escape its claws mostly unscathed. Colby knelt down and picked up Peach in his arms before shouting an order to his Pokémon. The Pidgey, still close to the ground, began to ascend in the air, but did not get far before Snub got her jaws around its wing and sent it crashing to the ground again. The two scuffled in the grass until Pidgey was knocked out.

Colby hobbled back to Orange, cradling Peach in his arms.

"What are we going to do about him?" Orange asked, nodding to Bellsprout. "We can't just leave him out here to fend for himself."

Colby pulled out an empty Poké ball and tapped it on the grass-type's head. The Pokémon went in and the ball rested without a struggle.

"He'll be safe in there until we get to Violet."

* * *

><p><strong>Don't forget to review!<strong>


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